Myofascial Release

     This blog about weight loss is in response to Jarod’s post below.   Many people have had difficulty losing and they have tried everything; all sorts of diets, supplements, exercise, fasting, and on and on and nothing seems to work or last.       

     Attempting to lose weight can be very frustrating.  Jarod had asked if there is possibility of an emotional component from long ago that may be sabotaging people.  The answer to Jarod’s question is yes.  What often happens is there was an event that occurred early on in our lives where there was an emotional or physical trauma which was overwhelming.   We tend to bury the feelings/emotions in the subconscious level.  This creates a trigger which can interfere with our ability to cope with the situation.  The mind/body then creates a mechanism by which it copes and it often can lead to problems with weight, alcohol, drugs, and any type of excessive behavior.  Often times a compulsion develops because the body/mind complex is trying to anesthetize itself, so it doesn’t feel this inner fear or pain that came from a past event.  

     It seems that the subconscious can cause a person to carry excess weight, almost as a protective mechanism.  Once the subconscious has lost the fear from the past event, then the body can start to function normally again.  You don’t feel that urge to overeat and you go back to a more instinctual pattern of eating.  I liken it to a pregnant women who instinctively eats something because their body is requesting (“craving”) it.  As the mind/body complex heals itself, you are able to go back to a more instinctive way of living where you are now eating the right food for yourself in the appropriate amounts.     

     There are many programs that are designed to promote weight loss and/or designed to help with compulsive behaviors. Though these programs are well intentioned, many of them are only providing coping strategies, and are not getting to the root of the problem.  So it’s not that you shouldn’t go through some of these programs, because they may benefit some people.  However, often times, Myofascial Release turns out to be the missing link, not only with pain and the restoration of motion, but also getting to the root cause of these compulsions that too many of us are saddled with in our lives.       

     Myofascial Release allows the person to safely reconnect with this information that is buried in the subconscious.  The mind/body then processes this hidden information and resolves the problem so it no longer has to cope.  Then a healthy, balanced diet, exercise, and all of the other complementary things that are important to us to be healthy, begin to work effectively for that individual.  In fact, through the Myofascial Unwinding ₁, we see many people after they have gone through their healing process, end up losing a lot of weight, without making any other major changes.  And at that point, adding exercise and a proper diet becomes more effective than it was previously. You are then able to return to a more balanced and joyful way of living again and eliminate compulsions and/or coping behaviors.   

Sincerely, John

Fascia is a liquid crystal that is piezoelectric, requiring specific principles for a release.  The gentle, sustained pressure of Myofascial Release stimulates the liquid crystal to release electrons which influences the thixotropic properties of the fascial ground substance to shift from a gel to a more liquid state. 

This takes on profound implications when considering the many women who struggle with women’s health issues.  Trauma and thwarted inflammation responses can solidify the ground substance creating crushing pressure on pain sensitive structures, producing symptoms that don’t respond to other forms of therapy.

The following contains important information for women.  These excerpts are taken from a new article I have written in the upcoming October issue of Massage Magazine called, “The Fascial Pelvis”.

• My experience has shown that over 90% of our clients suffering with lumbar and pelvic pain, headaches, and fibromyalgia have myofascial restrictions and imbalances in the pelvis.
• Myofascial Release is utilized for the treatment of menstrual pain and/or dysfunction, back and pelvic pain, endometriosis, and other inflammatory disorders.  It can successfully treat the unpleasant and/or painful symptoms during pregnancy and childbirth, recurrent bladder pain and infection, painful intercourse, sexual dysfunction, elimination problems, coccygeal pain, painful episiotomy scars, and the list goes on.  These problems can in many cases be substantially alleviated or eliminated by myofascial release, non-traumatically and gently.
• Fascia has the tensile strength of over 2,000 pounds per square inch.  In other words, fascial restrictions have the potential of exerting enormous pressure on pain-sensitive structures producing pain or malfunction of the important pelvic structures.  Certainly, not all problems have fascial origin, but restrictions of the fascia are the cause of many problems in a surprisingly high percentage of the cases, especially when all the tests turn out negative and medication only helps temporarily or surgery did not change the situation. 
• Scars from abdominal/pelvic surgery, trauma, or episiotomy scars can also create havoc in the pelvic area, causing menstrual dysfunction, pelvic pain, painful intercourse, constipation, diarrhea, incontinence, and/or hemorrhoids.
• Myofascial Release is a state of the art therapeutic approach for increasing your effectiveness and permanency of results in relieving pain, restoring function, and the quantity of motion and life. 

Myofascial Release and other forms of good massage, body work, and energy techniques can elicit tissue memory.  Tissue memory is considered to be a “flashback experience”, reversible amnesia, or Deja Vu experience.  The following are excerpts on the scientific rationale of these healing opportunities from my book, “Myofascial Release: The Search for Excellence.” (www.myofascialrelease.com)

• Mind-Body Awareness are two sides of the same coin, different aspects of the same spectrum, immutably, inseparable, connected, influencing, and communicating constantly.  Myofascial Release techniques and myofascial unwinding allow for the complete communication necessary for healing and true growth.  I believe that the body remembers everything that ever happened to it. 
• The link between mind-body awareness and healing is the concept of state-dependent memory, learning, and behavior (also called deja vu).  We have all experienced this, for example, when a certain smell, or the sound of a particular piece of music creates a flashback phenomenon, producing a visual, sensorimotor replay of a past event or important episode in our lives with a vividness as if it were happening at the moment.  I would like to expand this theory to include position-dependent memory, learning, and behavior with the structural position being the missing component in the state-dependent theory. 
• Studies have shown that during periods of trauma people make indelible imprints of experiences that have high levels of emotional content.  The body can hold information below the conscious level, as a protective mechanism, so that the memories tend to become dissociated or amnesic.  This is called memory dissociation, or reversible amnesia.  The memories are state or position dependent and can therefore be retrieved when the person is in a particular state or position.  This information is not available in the normal conscious state, and the body’s protective mechanism keep us away from the positions that our mind-body awareness construes as painful or traumatic.
• It has been demonstrated consistently that when a myofascial release technique takes the tissue to a significant position, or when myofascial unwinding allows a body part to assume a significant position three-dimensionally in space, the tissue not only changes and improves, but also memories, associated emotional states, and belief systems rise to the conscious level.  This awareness through the positional reproduction of a past event or trauma allows the individual to grasp the previously hidden information that may be creating or maintaining symptoms or behavior that deter improvement.  With the information now at the conscious level, the individual is in a position to learn what holding or bracing patterns have been impeding progress. This release of tissue, emotions, and hidden information creates an environment for change that is both consistent and effective.
• Memory and learning of all higher organisms fall into two classes on internal responses: 1. There is a memory trace on the molecular-cellular-synaptic level. 2. An involvement of the amygdala and hippocampus of the limbic-hypothalamic system in processing and encoding, and recall of the specific memory trace may be located elsewhere in the brain.
• The limbic-hypothalamic system is the central core to Selye’s general adaptation syndrome, the three stages of which, the alarm reaction, the stage of resistance, and the stage of exhaustion, take on a profound significance. 
• With myofascial unwinding, the therapist eliminates gravity from the system.  This unloading of the structure allows the body’s righting reflexes and protective responses to temporarily suspend their influence.  The body then can move into positions that allow these state or position-dependent physiologic or flashback phenomena to reoccur.  As this happens within the safe environment of a treatment session, the client can facilitate the body’s inherent self correcting mechanism to obtain improvement. 

The following are comments from the Deja Vu blog:

Rich Staudt, MOT, OTR/L, LMT // Aug 25th 2008 at 8:45 pm

I can attest to the “flashback” feeling on a personal basis. During my attendance of one of John’s MFR seminars I was the role of client for a lower extremity technique. My partner simply held my leg in a relaxed flexed position with very mild compression when I was taken back to my knee injury I had experienced in high school. Perspiration and accelerated breathing with all my fears and tears of ending my dreams of playing football flowed over me. My knee hated to be in that “uncomfortable” position. I could smell the grass on the field and feel the helplessness of the present-past. With encouragement my partner with an instructor helped me process through the position of injury. That was such a powerful experience. After that initial and further MFR treatments, I have been able to participate in challenging sports such as martial arts and softball with more confidence and strength in my knees. Thank you John and those who have treated me for allowing the recapture of my power for living.

[reply to this comment]

 Mary Ryan NCTMB, CMT, NJ // Sep 2nd 2008 at 10:15 pm

John,
As always, your massage mag. blog, books, articles, seminars; a multitude of diverse conversation for all to learn and dwell upon. In the concept of karma and tissue memory, what are your thoughts. A single example: a client is unwinding within a repetitive patterning without any break through towards a full release for a number of sessions. Doesn’t ‘know’ where,why or how this unwinding is coming from but feels something…deep. Frustrating for the client. As if it is way beyond or rather way far back to reconcile with. Client feels a need to reconcile with something in order to let go, deeper. Would or could this possibly clarify as perhaps a karmic reason, based in tissue memory or the mind-body disassociation from something within the client’s own psyche. Though both could be involved. Your comments, thoughts on this relationship of the two or maybe no relationship. Thank you, John.

[reply to this comment]

The concept of tissue memory has come up often in my Myofascial Release Seminars.  It seems that during extreme trauma, excessive pain and/or fear becomes imbedded in the fascial structures.  These hidden memories are associated with the position in space or mental/emotional state of the individual.

 Myofascial Release and other forms of good bodywork and massage can safely produce these deja vu or flashback experiences. 

If some of you have had these flashback experiences , how about if you express them to us on this blog and I will answer to help better understand these important experiences. 

Sincerely,

John

Thanks Rich, Myofascial Release has the potential to increase one’s ability in athletic performance. 

 I played football and many other sports including competitive weight lifting and Karate.  Weight lifting taught me intense mental focus for the explosive muscular contraction required to lift heavy weights.  Karate taught me about the flow of energy and the importance of being in the “now”.  When I was fighting, centered and flowing in the present moment, time seemed to slow down.  I could see/sense that fist coming at me and I had all the time in the world to block and counter punch.   If I instead started to think, bam!  I was hit. 

A lesson that we all need to learn.  “There are consequences to our actions!”

It is imperative that we and our clients are centered during our treatment for maximum effectiveness.

Sincerely,

John

My first job after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania as a physical therapist was a staff therapist in a General Hospital.  A year later I was offered the chief physical therapist position at a large hospital.  I accepted and enjoyed the responsibility of leading a multitude of therapists from different disciplines.  I honed my organizational skills over the years. 

As time went by I perceived a need and began to develop and manage Physical Therapy departments in hospitals, Rehabilitation Centers, nursing homes, and private practices.  As with so many other things in my career I was told it could not be done.  Despite those dire warnings, I became very successful with over 30 contracts with health care facilities and over 100 employees. 

A new movie is out this week called, “Mongol”.  It is the story of Genghis Khan, one of the world’s most fierce warriors.  The announcement of this movie triggered the following memory. 

As I became more successful one of my chief physical therapists said to me one day, “You remind me of Genghis Khan!” I looked at him in disbelief.  I said that I have always been fair in all of my business dealings.  I have never hurt anyone.  He laughed and said,”I know”, and handed me a book of the life of Genghis Khan.  He said, “It’s your style; you are intelligent, but you lead with your intuition and instinct, like Genghis Khan.”

As I read this book I found his life fascinating, and in one passage there was a discussion of what I consider to be tissue memory.  Genghis Khan’s army  was considered to be the most organized and fierce fighters of their time.  After each battle he taught them to push into their fellow warriors bodies.  He describes how they would scream and cry to help their wounds heal.  This would also eradicate the memory of fear and pain from their mind/body so that they could go into the next battle fearless and physically, mentally, and emotionally strong. 

Our experience with Myofascial Release has shown that our fascial system seems to hold memories of past painful events that have not been fully released.  Myofascial release helps us release the past experiences fully in a safe,  efficient, and highly effective way so that we may move onto our next adventure in life painlessly and fearlessly with emotional tranquility and mental clarity!

 Love,

John

Dear Shannon,  Fascia can become restricted from trauma, surgery, and/or thwarted inflammatory responses.  When we are traumatized, the subconscious braces against the threat to our survival and pain.  This inner tension begins to slow the vibrational energy within the ground substance of the fascial system.  The ground substance (matrix) is ideally a fluid/gel state.

This blockage of energetic flow can dehydrate the fluid component of the fascial system that ultimately solidifies into powerful fascial retsrictions that can exert crushing pressure of up to approximately 2,000 pounds per square inch.  This enormous pressure of Myofascial restrictions do not show up on any of the standard tests and over time produce a wide array of symptoms. 

Myofascial Release can reverse the painful and limiting effects of trauma, surgery, and thwarted inflammatory responses. 

John

Over my 48 years as a therapist I have used many different treatment tables.  I am often asked at my Myofascial Release seminars what kind of table I am using on the stage.  I use the Astra-Lite Lumina III.  When asked, Why?  I just explain that we don’t sell tables, but because of my positive experience with the Astra-Lite Lumina III, I have used these tables for over a decade.  I have over 20 Astra-Lite tables in my treatment centers and I use one on stage at each of my MFR seminars.

The benefits are they are very light, approximately 19 pounds, yet very strong.  It opens easily and instantly.  They are very comfortable and are available in many different colors.

The Astra-Lite table is excellent for massage, bodywork, and especially for Myofascial Release.  Since the legs are angled outward supported by steel cables, the therapist can lean into a restriction, using gentle leverage without the table tilting.  Also important, when the therapist is using “fascial cranial” techniques he or she can comfortably fit their legs under the table. 

If you are interested in more information about Astra-Lite call 1-800-368-5483 or go to their website www.astra-lite.com/. 

Sincerely,

John

Hi Mike.  It is nice to hear from you.  Before I answer your question, let me go over some information that you are familiar with, but would be helpful to those just learning about Myofascial Release. 

As an MFR therapist, we never force, we never lead, we never analyze, we never tell the patient what to think or feel, we never try to elicit emotions; therefore we never injure!

Bottom line, we don’t try.  We center ourselves and follow the gentle, non-invasive Myofascial Release principles and allow the client to experience what is natural for them. As with many other forms of good massage, bodywork, energy work, acupuncture, etc, sometimes emotions and/or memories may arise.

Some therapists are concerned about the client expressing emotion.  My question to them is, “Have you ever heard of anyone being injured by crying?”  Of course not: don’t you feel better after a good cry?  It can be very healing. 

What I say to the therapists in my Myofascial Release seminars and my clients is that “we are all afraid.”  We were taught by our society not to feel or trust our emotions; to shove them down.  In doing so, we didn’t realize that our unexpressed emotions were creating subconscious bracing patterns that over time solidify the ground substance of our fascial system.  The ground substance ideally should be a fluid/gel state. 

This solidification of the ground substance or matrix eventually creates crushing pressure on pain sensitive structures ultimately producing the symptoms of pain, headaches, Fibromyalgia. restriction of motion, inner anxiety turmoil, and/or mental hyper-vigilance.  This unfortunately describes a large segment of our society. 

And now, Mike, to answer your question, “How do you work with the idea that a fear is protective and letting go is scarier than the initial fear itself?”  Explain that fear is protective, but it is protecting something that happened in the past.  This constant state of fear exhausts us and limits the full expression of life.  And if our internal alarms are ringing constantly, we no longer hear them; therefore we are no longer protected in the present moment when actual danger arises. 

It is important for us all to realize that we don’t have to feel the fear or past pain all at once. The client has total control.  They can chip away at it at their own pace.  Every second we feel our therapeutic fear or pain some of its energy and intensity is dissipated until there us nothing left.  We can then return to our natural state; calm, tranquil, pain-free and mentally clear.  You might suggest that your client go to my website (www.myofascialrelease.com) and go to the article section and read about “Therapeutic pain”.

Our experience has shown that as we feel our fear with a trusted therapist in a safe therapeutic environment, it transforms into a power that enhances our life and begins the healing process.  Fear, then, becomes our true friend.

I hope this helps.

Sincerely,

                John

Beyond the benefits of reduction of pain, spasm, and increased range of motion and function achieved by Myofascial Release, the elimination of fearful behaviors, compulsions, and anxiety attacks is possible.

Other therapeutic approaches are based on the “neuronal doctrine” which has shown to be obsolete as the old, outdated scientific paradigm.  The physiological aspects of Myofascial Release eradicating fear is now being supported by the “new” science.

The following is an excerpt from the March/April issue of Discover Magazine by Oril Van Mourik in an article titled, “A Future Reminder: Reshaping the Past”.

“Remember your first encounter with a stove?  “Don’t touch that!  It’s hot”, you were warned, and the message was clear.  “Stove=Danger”.  Eventually, of course, you came to understand that stoves are pretty harmless, provided you avoid the burners.  And just like that, you unlearned your fear of stoves.

Unlearning a fear may sound simple, but for years neurologists believed such emotion was entrenched , set in stone by fixed neuronal networks in the brain, and thus unaffected by new information.  Now a study led by Bong-Kiun Kaang at Seoul National University has altered that view.  Every time a long-term memory or an associated emotion, like fear, is retrieved, proteins found in the synapses between neurons are degraded, allowing that memory to be updated by incoming information”.  You can go to http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/1150541v1 for more in-depth information.

This physiological response corresponds with our Myofascial Release experience.    As the mind/body gets in touch with unresolved emotions and/or memories the structure releases and authentic healing begins.

The following excerpts from my book,  Myofascial Release: The Search for Excellence, Chapter 8 (www.myofascialrelease.com) may help to explain the scientific aspects of Myofascial Release.

New neurobiologic research and Selye’s classic work are concerned with the phenomenon of state-dependent memory, learning, and behavior.  State-dependent memory, learning, and behavior is the general class of learning that takes place in all complex organisms that have a cerebral cortex and a limbic-hypothalamic system, and pavlovian and skinnerian conditioning are specific varieties of it.

Memory and learning of all higher organisms fall into two classes of internal responses:

1. There is a memory trace on the molecular-cellular-synaptic level.

2. An involvement of the amygdala and hippocampus of the limbic-hypothalamic system in processing and encoding, and recall of the specific memory trace may be located elsewhere in the brain.

The limbic-hypothalamic system is the central core to Selye’s general adaption syndrome, the three stages of which, the alarm reaction, the stage of resistance, and the stage of exhaustion, take on a profound significance.

To ask how the mind communicates with the body, or how the body communicates with the mind assumes that the two are separate entities.  My experience has shown me that they are a single unit.  The body is not just a reflection of the personality, it is the personality.

Therefore mind-body awareness are two sides of the same coin, different aspects of the same spectrum, immutably joined, inseparable, connected, influencing, and communicating constantly.  Myofascial release techniques and myofascial unwinding allow for the complete communication necessary for healing and true growth.  I believe that the body remembers everything that ever happened to it.

The link between mind-body awareness and healing is the concept  of state-dependent memory, learning, and behavior (also called deja vu).  We have all experienced  this, for example, when a certain smell, or the sound of a particular piece of music creates a flashback phenomenon, producing a visual, sensorimotor replay of a past event or important episode in our lives with a vividness as if it were happening at that moment.  I would like to expand this theory to include “position-dependent memory, learning, and behavior“, with the structural position being the missing component in the state-dependent theory.

Studies have shown that during periods of trauma people make indelible imprints of experiences that have high levels of emotional content.  The body can hold information below the conscious level, as a protective mechanism, so that memories tend to become dissociated or amnesic.  This is called memory dissociation, or reversible amnesia.  The memories are state or position dependent and can therefore be retrieved when the person is in a particular state or position.

Myofascial Release is the wave of the future.  Enjoy the ride!

John